QuestionWhat do you thing about underage marriages? Do you think it should be illegal or legal?
The reason why i ask because i got to do a research about underage marriages and i need a expert opinion telling my teacher and classmates about who said it would be a good or bad idea. My opinion about it is that it should be illegal because what underage marriages will lead into. What i heard is really upsetting. I really think it should and be illegal not until that teenager get to the age of 18. Please help me.......
-Dianna
AnswerHi Dianna~
I totally agree with you for many reasons. Most of the reasons being that when a person gets married young they are immature, and don't always know what they want, they can't make very good decisions (and see what the consequences for poor choices and bad decisions can lead to later in life), as they grow older than mature and don't have the same views/opinions that they do when they are teens. In other words as you grow and mature you see life differently at different ages and stages in life. In your teens you don't think about the consequences about decisions you make. In your 20's, 30's, 40's and so on your at different places than you were when you were younger, if that makes any sense whatsoever.
All states vary greatly on the legal age of consent. Don't fret though in most states the age to consent to marriage is at least 17. Anything under that you must have a parent or guardians signature on the marriage certificate in order to get married or the marriage isn't legal. A lot of parents won't consent to their child getting married so young b/c they know what can happen. I'm also a statistic of marrying too young too. Granted I was 19 when I started dating my BF at the time. We got married at age 20 and had our first child (and our children were planned and wanted) at age 21 (I'd just turned 21 a month prior to giving birth to her). If you ask me now, yes, I'd say that we jumped into a marriage, we were young and dumb and too immature to handle the responsibilities of marriage, raising children, running a household, paying bills, etc. And getting married is a huge life changing ordeal, as is when you have children too. It changes you for better or worse. The bottom line is to think long and hard before you get married, make sure you're compatible with your partner before you marry, make sure it feels right, and you want to spend your life with someone.
Yes, your sentiments on making marriage legal at the age of 18 is a very good one, for many reasons, and even statistics prove that too. Typically when a person gets married young their marriage often doesn't last (not always the case though), I can't tell you how many times I've had people tell me that they married too young, they jumped into marriage/relationships too soon, they don't have anything in common anymore, they have lost the connection that they once had, etc, etc. I hope this helps you some and good luck on your paper.
